Chassis finish and component questions

[ThePoose]

Hello, newbie here. My son and I are restoring his grandpa's 79 K10 shortbed that we inherited. It's a very complete, original truck that had been sitting for quite a while and hoping for a little help.

I've got this thing torn down mostly to individual components and getting ready to blast then paint the frame and other components to start rebuilding. I'm having a hard time finding out what some of the finishes should be. I've been looking around and haven't had much luck since there isn't any kind of concours site for these trucks that I can find (not that we're doing a concours restoration, this truck will be used).

Obviously, the frame is a satin/semigloss black. It looks like both diffs were black as well (except maybe the yokes, were they natural finish).

Some of the other components I can't tell:
Steering box: natural cast iron or black
Tie rods, sleeves and linkage: natural cast iron or black
Leaf springs: natural steel or black
Front sway bar: natural cast iron or black

Or did they assemble the whole chassis at the factory and paint everything black afterward? Which brings up the question of hardware, was every nut and bolt on the chassis painted black or were they assorted finishes?

Why do I even care? Well, if it's pulled apart, doesn't mean much more work to me to spray pieces to match the original, especially since this truck is so complete. Plus, I like the detail of things being different colors if they were original. I like that sense of making it right because we have the opportunity to do it. And a little bit of making it how it was when grandpa bought it new.

Anyway, any help is appreciated and probably won't be my last question. Not my first restoration, but my first Chevy truck and first 4X4.

Thanks

 

[83Burban]

I'm of ZERO help to you in this regard. But I think its awesome that you are taking the time to spend this much attention to detail.

I think we have one or two guys here that used to work on the assembly line. Im just also new and dont remember exactly who is who.

My dad used to do total restorations like that. So I can really appriciate the effort. Dad got to do a number of rolls-royce's and an original Bugatti one time. They might have even done a 1930s delahaye 135. But.....nothing post 1960. So i doubt he'll have any info...but I'll ask anyways.

 

[AuroraGirl]

@Keith Seymore was intern or working in engineering or something related to that back in the day when squares were made so he has memories of the process I’m sure. He seems to remember a lot of golden nuggets from his time

 

[ThePoose]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not painting for a couple of weeks, so wanted to get out ahead of it. Heading out to disassemble the engine now to see what's what.

 

[OEMBent]

I built them in Flint in the 70's. I was mostly a painter but did spend some time in other areas. Most of the bolts would not be painted. The entire frame with whatever is riveted to it is done at one time and depending on the year they were elpo dipped if I recall correctly. I think you can find correct sheen for the frame. Try Eastwood if they are still in business.

Individual front end steering components were not painted after assembly so all your bolts, nuts and cotter pins should be sans paint.

Steering boxes were not painted. Natural as you say.

Front sway bar I believe was coated with the same stuff as the frame but the bushings and bolts would not be.

Fasteners would be whatever color they were according to the treatment.

Body panels were painted both individually and then again with the doors and tailgates installed. I painted final finish and I did the drivers side of the firewall, inside of the door, drivers side of the dash, top of the bed rail, driver side of the tailgate. I also put a "fog" coat on the metallics to even out the flake. I had a mirror of me on the other side of the truck doing the same thing. We met in the middle so to speak.

All sheet metal was painted before anything else was installed/attached. If you have overspray on a frame, radiator support,etc it was either repaired in paint repair at the plant or later in life.

Later in my life when I worked for TRW/Federal-Mogul I had a customer in a small town in Virginia that did super high end restorations. White Post restorations. They kept all the fasteners unpainted but coated them with clear to help protect them better against corrosion.

 

[ThePoose]

OEMBent,
This is perfect. Thank you.

 

[OEMBent]

OEMBent,
This is perfect. Thank you.

I forgot to mention that tie rod ends I believe were coated black but not the adjuster sleeve. I could be wrong as I spent a lot of years in the aftermarket and may be confusing the replacement stuff with the factory.

Of course upper and lower control arms were coated.

FWIW I worked an area in the plant for a week or so called "small parts takeoff" or "painting", I can't recall. But this was a place where we painted clutch, brake, gas pedals and other small metal parts that got painted black.

Feel free to contact when you get into other areas of the truck. It's been a few years, lol but I may remember how some stuff was done. I was a young kid that was fascinated (still am) by the assembly plant and how it all worked.

My childhood friend's dad was an engineer there and one of his perks, he drove home a truck everyday and returned it the next day. My friend and I liked to check them out and when a new model came out, we would try to discover the changes. Fun times. One weekend we took a truck out and "field tested" it. But that is a story to have over a cup of coffee or a beer. We were somewhat irresponsible young men, but we had fun. I felt bad for the person that ended up with that truck. We tested it good!

 

[Keith Seymore]

Well done, OEM -

The only thing(s) I would add:

There was a station immediately before body drop where the "chassis black" was sprayed onto the completed chassis.

To call it "spray paint" would be a bit optimistic; it was a really thin, watery, cheap paint and it was sort of "drizzled" in the general direction of the chassis. The end result would be thin black paint on the upper surfaces of the front control arms, top half of the drive shaft and diff, and upper surfaces of the axle tubes and drums.

Now that I lay all that out it occurs to me that is certainly not something you would want to replicate.

K

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[AuroraGirl]

Well done, OEM -

The only thing(s) I would add:

There was a station immediately before body drop where the "chassis black" was sprayed onto the completed chassis.

To call it "spray paint" would be a bit optimistic; it was a really thin, watery, cheap paint and it was sort of "drizzled" in the general direction of the chassis. The end result would be thin black paint on the upper surfaces of the front control arms, top half of the drive shaft and diff, and upper surfaces of the axle tubes and drums.

Now that I lay all that out it occurs to me that is certainly not something you would want to replicate.

K

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Was that just for a quick one color nice look from factory to look nice in dealer lots?

 

[OEMBent]

Well done, OEM -

The only thing(s) I would add:

There was a station immediately before body drop where the "chassis black" was sprayed onto the completed chassis.

To call it "spray paint" would be a bit optimistic; it was a really thin, watery, cheap paint and it was sort of "drizzled" in the general direction of the chassis. The end result would be thin black paint on the upper surfaces of the front control arms, top half of the drive shaft and diff, and upper surfaces of the axle tubes and drums.

Now that I lay all that out it occurs to me that is certainly not something you would want to replicate.

K

QC was different back then. I remember guys restoring Corvettes saying they had to hang the frame in a certain direction so that when they sprayed the frame the runs would be going in the same direction as the factory. I may be fussy, but I'm okay with improving on OEM when I can.

 

[AuroraGirl]

QC was different back then. I remember guys restoring Corvettes saying they had to hang the frame in a certain direction so that when they sprayed the frame the runs would be going in the same direction as the factory. I may be fussy, but I'm okay with improving on OEM when I can.

Especially in the chemical composition of paints and coatings. We make em a lot better these days. Not that it didn’t work then it just .. is better. Some people who restore old tractors sometimes fail to get this and they are trying to use period correct paints and stuff. It’s a color and finish it can be whatever you want past that.

And frankly if I paint a tractor perfect i only want to do it once

 

[ThePoose]

Thanks! I love hearing stories like this. But, yeah, I plan on doing a better than OEM because I don't want to have to do it again. I want it to be durable.
And I won't be replicating runs. If I get a run, I'll probably cuss then spend a day arguing with myself whether it really matters before I end up fixing it.

 

[OEMBent]

Thanks! I love hearing stories like this. But, yeah, I plan on doing a better than OEM because I don't want to have to do it again. I want it to be durable.
And I won't be replicating runs. If I get a run, I'll probably cuss then spend a day arguing with myself whether it really matters before I end up fixing it.

Just like if I have pitting in my frame after blasting, I'm smoothing it out with filler or something before painting.